The real reason for the sponsorship is so that Florida DOT bigwigs can get into nice cushy boxes for the race. What better way to get "free" tickets into the biggest NASCAR event than have work pay for it?

NASCAR sponsorship is just advertising. How many thousands of Floridians are going to see or hear the slogan "Alert today, alive tomorrow: Safety doesn't happen by accident" this weekend? $174,500 is a reasonable price for the exposure they'll get. They probably paid more than that to get a marketing firm to come up with that slogan. And there's nothing like a little controversy to give them free advertising.